Many photographic cameras utilize AA batteries configured with a negative contact on a first end face of the battery and a positive contact on a second end face of the battery, axially displaced from the first end face. The positive contact is actually an exposed portion of the metal battery jacket which is normally covered with a paper or plastic label which serves as an insulating wrapper.
As is illustrated in Japanese Kokai 2-126362, if for some reason one wishes to make contact with the positive pole of the battery at a location other than the second end face of the battery, contact may be made on the cylindrical metal jacket. In Kokai '362, the battery is inserted into the camera in a radial direction as opposed to a longitudinal or axial direction. Insertion in the radial direction, rather than the longitudinal or axial direction, requires that substantially more surface area of the camera housing be devoted to a door, which for at least some camera configurations may be undesirable.
In current 35 mm, single use cameras (SUCs), a single battery is used with contacts at each end face. This requires that a circuit board connected to the battery extend under both ends of the battery or that a relatively long metal lip be used to connect the circuit board to the positive end face of the battery. In addition, from time to time, customers remove batteries from SUCs prior to returning the SUCs for development. This compromises assurance that used batteries will be properly disposed of.
As cameras perform more complex functions, there is always a need for additional space within the camera housing to accommodate additional mechanisms. In addition, there is a continual need to reduce the overall size and weight of cameras. As a result, there is a need for a battery contact arrangement which accommodates batteries without labels so that narrower circuit boards and more compact contact configurations may be utilized. In addition, arrangements are needed in which batteries may not be removed without difficulty by the customer, yet may be removed quickly and conveniently when a single use camera is returned for development of the film therein.